Today there are two stories that I have come across that describe the irresponsible behaviors that make the public so skeptical of everyone who tries to play by the rules. In the first article, a physician in New Jersey passed away suddenly from a heart attack. While tragic, this event is what caused the rest of the story to bubble to the surface. It turns out that an exceptional number of law enforcement and fire fighting personnel were interested and dismayed at the news despite the fact the physician had no official ties to either department. The public servants all knew this physician because he was writing illegal prescriptions for steroids for them. He was their dealer. If that isn't bad enough, most of the pharmaceuticals were being paid for by the public servants' insurance. You guessed it, the insurance was paid for, at least in part, with municipal taxes. The estimated cost to taxpayers was in the tens of millions.
The second article hits even closer to home since it is a story of negligence in the athletic world. It seems that there are still coaches that will recommend a student-athlete not seek medical attention to rule out a possible TBI. This is no surprise to me since I still hear these kinds of stories often enough to make them disturbing. I still find it extremely foolish for a coach who has no medical background whatsoever to "make a diagnosis" on his or her own and give medical advice. Yes, they are practicing medicine when they do this and it needs to addressed. Otherwise, it is only a matter of time before the coach tells the wrong thing to the wrong athlete and they end up fighting litigation due to some tragedy.
No comments :
Post a Comment